Preliminary hearing waived on charge of bringing drugs into jail

A Wolverine man who was sentenced to prison last fall for several breaking and enterings waived a preliminary examination Wednesday on new charges.

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By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

Cheboygan Daily Tribune - Cheboygan, MI

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 8:31 PM

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

Posted Mar. 27, 2013 at 8:31 PM

CHEBOYGAN

A Wolverine man who was sentenced to prison last fall for several breaking and enterings waived a preliminary examination Wednesday on new charges.

Thomas Jeffery Skinner Jr., 27, is serving time at Parnall Correctional Facility in Jackson, Mich., in connection with charges of delivery/conspiracy to deliver/furnishing/possession of contraband while in the Cheboygan County Jail.

A court affidavit states Skinner allegedly reported to jail after sentencing Oct. 23, 2012 with the drug Suboxone concealed in fingers of an examination glove that were hidden in a body cavity. The drug, in both tablet and sublingual film strip form, was then offered to at least four jail inmates. Two prisoners accepted the drug, trading for a breakfast tray in one case and another for a brownie and candy bar.

“Bringing contraband (drugs) into the jail is a felony and we make diligent and exhaustive efforts to ensure the security of the jail,” Cheboygan County Sheriff Dale Clarmont said after Skinner’s arraignment. “When caught, you will be held accountable.”

Corrections officers noticed Skinner holding a cup with an unknown substance the morning after his arrival while he was waiting for transfer to the Michigan Department of Corrections. A follow-up investigation verified the drug as Suboxone and produced inmates who told of either being offered the drugs or trading food for them.

In October 2012, Skinner also received concurrent sentences of 17 months to 4 years and and 23 months to 10 years in prison after admitting guilt to three counts of second-degree home invasion and one charge of larceny in a building. Two other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Skinner is now being charged as a four-time habitual offender and his enhanced sentence, if convicted, must run consecutively after his original time is completed.

Arraignment in Cheboygan County 53rd Circuit Court is scheduled for April 16.